Easter Traditions in Ireland

Children would race off to the hen house to see if there was an egg with their name on it. What parents used to do in those days was take the eggs laid on Good Friday and set them aside. In secret, the mother colored the eggs by adding washing blue, wild flowers or onion skins to the water in which they were boiled; then, she decorated them with simple designs and the children’s names. Others, she would simply mark with a cross. These were the eggs that were put into the nesting boxes in the hen house, before the children woke up on Easter Sunday. In more recent times, parents also hid chocolate Easter eggs among the flowers, shrubs and hedges in the back yard.

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On Aoine Cásca, Good Friday, we would gift egg baskets to family and close friends, I would help decorate some of them after mass on Friday morning and then I would help make the baskets. Special people received special eggs. All received cooked and uncooked eggs, After delivering the eggs, we would purchase our easter dresses and I woud get new hair bows.

Domhnach na Pailme, Palm Sunday, kicked off Holy week, and the mad fury of sping cleaning would begin. Thehouse was scrubbed, closets and toy bins cleaned out and things "gently used or worn" donated to those less fortunate

On Holy Saturday there was no talking, there was no music or radio or television only silence. That was very hard for me as a small child.

An Cháisc, Easter, the actual day, we would go to mass and then visit the closest cemetery where we would place Easter Lilies and tri-colours on the graves of all those Irish we knew. Then we would come home to a ham dinner and afterwards, the "good" children...or as could as could be expected...were given our Baskets of Chocolate eggs and Faery CAkes. One or two of the Faery cakes would have a special surprise in the center. The child who received one, and it was always random, was given the Faery seat in the main room whilst the music played into the evening...

On Aoine Cásca, Good Friday, we would gift egg baskets to family and close friends, I would help decorate some of them after mass on Friday morning and then I would help make the baskets. Special people received special eggs. All received cooked and uncooked eggs, After delivering the eggs, we would purchase our easter dresses and I woud get new hair bows.

Domhnach na Pailme, Palm Sunday, kicked off Holy week, and the mad fury of sping cleaning would begin. Thehouse was scrubbed, closets and toy bins cleaned out and things "gently used or worn" donated to those less fortunate

On Holy Saturday there was no talking, there was no music or radio or television only silence. That was very hard for me as a small child.

An Cháisc, Easter, the actual day, we would go to mass and then visit the closest cemetery where we would place Easter Lilies and tri-colours on the graves of all those Irish we knew. Then we would come home to a ham dinner and afterwards, the "good" children...or as could as could be expected...were given our Baskets of Chocolate eggs and Faery CAkes. One or two of the Faery cakes would have a special surprise in the center. The child who received one, and it was always random, was given the Faery seat in the main room whilst the music played into the evening...

The short answer to your question is no, I did not grow up in Ireland..but being of Irish blood, I feel compelled to fill in the rest of the story

I am what has been described as a "cultural mutt", my father is Canadian born of Ulster Scot parents. My momma is Mexican and Sicilian. I grew up in the desert southwest but my Gran made sure that I felt like I was in the North of Ireland, as my Nana made sure that I felt as if I were in Sonora. That meant growing up with the customs of two nations separated by distance but vastly more similar in culture and traditions.

In that vein, Easter was celebrated in Celtic fashion and Christmas was celebrated in Mexican fashion. We celebrated St Patrick's day with fervor and on September 12th, dia de los San Patricios. Hallow's eve is celebrated in Celtic fashion and Dia de los muertos is a time for honoring our ancestors in Mexican fashion.

I grew up hearing the Irish language from my Gran and her cousins when they wanted to talk about me and Spanish between my Nana and momma when they wished to speak of me, as well. What neither realized was that I understood more than they thought. Mariachis and bagpipes were equally important musically. I have spoken with an Irish lilt since I could speak.

Whipping the Herring out of Town

Whipping the herring out of town was a custom which heralded the last day of Lent, when Cork butchers celebrated the coming of Easter and the return of economic prosperity (and meat-eating) by holding a mock funeral of a herring, which symbolised abstinence. The painting depicts the moment after the herring is discarded, when the butchers would tie a quarter of lamb to a lath, decorated with ribbons and flowers, which would then be accompanied on its return to the market place by musicians, revellers and mischief-makers. Situated at the junction of Batchelors Quay and North Gate, Grogan depicts the scene with a zest for his subject. The individual groupings within the composition together create a real sense of the movement of the crowd along the streets. The religious context is not lost on Grogan, as he highlights the importance of the quarter of lamb (Lamb of God) in a quasi-religious ‘glow’ http://www.europeana.eu/portal/record/15410/13F28801876DAD99B352850...